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Hootywho View Drop Down
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Points: 50 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Frank Zappa, opinions?
    Posted: March 19 2009 at 05:34
As stated, your opinions on Frank Zappa.

Myself, I find his music rather hard to listen to with the exception of Hot Rats and some of his other jazzy stuff, generally, even then, I find myself changing the song when he comes up on random. I don't dislike it nor do I find it pleasing to the ear.


How 'bout you?
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Mr ProgFreak View Drop Down
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Points: 5195 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2009 at 05:40
Takes some getting used to. My recommendation, as always: Roxy & Elsewhere. One of my favorite live albums with amazing musicianship, great tunes ... and great humor! The best way to get used to something like Zappa is to pick one of the albums and listen to it every now and then, instead of listening to random tracks.  
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Points: 5482 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2009 at 06:27
I find that Frank could create some of the most incredible music when he wanted to.  He could also get very silly.  I enjoy both aspects of his music.
Trust me. I know what I'm doing.
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Points: 2720 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2009 at 06:38
I can honestly say that Zappa ever made a track that I tend to skip (and I've got 75 Zappa albums, just counted 'em).
 
Hardly a day goes by without listening to his music.
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Points: 2078 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2009 at 06:59
The only album I found difficult was lump gravy but now I have a great appreciation for that album now.I don't think he's done a bad album perhaps just better ones.



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Points: 1085 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2009 at 07:20
I think Zappa was an absolute genius...maybe even the best thing to happen in modern music (certainly in America). In It For The Money, Lumpy Gravy, & Uncle Meat still blow me away with each listen...masterworks!
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Points: 2476 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2009 at 09:17
Have you tried ONE SIZE FITS ALL? It's magnificent symphonic rock, with jazzy soloing.
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Points: 10964 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2009 at 09:52
yea Zappa is awesome. Though you dont get the full treatment when you have him on shuffle

if you like his jazzier albums, then go with

Hot Rats
One Size Fits All
Roxy & Elsewhere
Overnite Sensation
Burnt Weeny Sandwich
Apostrophe ()
Lather (3 discs though, youd wanna save this for when you're well acquainted)
Zappa New York

i didnt recommend ant early Mothers album, since it doesnt seem like the original poster could handle it Wink
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Points: 1085 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2009 at 09:59
Originally posted by fuxi fuxi wrote:

Have you tried ONE SIZE FITS ALL? It's magnificent symphonic rock, with jazzy soloing.
 
One Size is an excellent album! Back when I was just getting into Zappa I found a box set containing Over-Nite, Apostrophe, & One Size in their entirity...it was love at first listen Embarrassed
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Points: 4373 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2009 at 10:03
I started with Sheik Yerbouti. It was good, but not great. Then I went for the Apostrophe/Overnite Sensation two-fer. Yes! I was hooked after that. Rather than taking it slow, I just dove into the Lather box. Amazing! I've bought three Zappa records in the last week, and all I can say is that Roxy & Elsewhere is an absolute must.
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Points: 2447 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2009 at 11:40
I wasn't sure what to make of Zappa's music for a long time.  Eventually, I picked up Hot Rats and this got me interested.  Got Roxy sometime after that, and was hooked, though I felt like I only really liked his instrumental stuff.  The next thing I picked up was Lather, and I've been a fan ever since.  I'd almost suggest Lather as a great starting point, since it has everything and is presented in a way that Frank originally intended.  For me, having heard quite a lot of his other albums, Lather just sort of ties everything together.  However, it IS a huge hunk of challenging and diverse music, 3 1/2 hours worth!  But hey, were prog fans right, we love a challenge Big smile

But yeah, he was a genius, one of the best composers EVER in my opinion.  But it took me literally years to come around to that viewpoint, and very careful and painstaking selection of albums to work my way into his vast catalog.  Some stuff still leaves me scratching my head (like Civilization Phase III), but there is so much good stuff it's almost hard to believe it's all the work of one man (and his incredibly talented and skilled hand picked musicians).
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Points: 5195 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2009 at 11:53
^ That's why I like to recommend Roxy ... it has both amazing instrumental pieces and humorous stuff, and a really warm/mellow vibe throughout ... plus it's really compact. YCDTOSA 2 is great too, but a bit more demanding. A great follow up to Roxy though, because it contains some of the songs of Roxy played a lot faster.
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Points: 190 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2009 at 12:32
I don't like certain tracks of his, but in general I love Zappa. I think his music is intelligent as well as fun, which is not a fantastically common combination! I won't pretend to own every album of his, though. That'd take some work...
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Points: 21342 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2009 at 12:37
I absolutely love a pretty good majority of his output (basically everything from 71-81 is good in my eyes), but then he had to release such terrible albums like Thing Fish and Francesco Zappa... luckily those didn't shake my faith in him.
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Points: 46301 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2009 at 12:48
I'm improving my opinion about him nowadays (let's just say I hated him Wink), so far I have six very good albums noted down (We're Only In It For The Money, Hot Rats, Fillmore East, Roxy & Elsewhere, Zoot Allures & Joe's Garage), and the journey continues. 

Edited by Ricochet - March 19 2009 at 12:52
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Points: 29630 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2009 at 12:56 
My first was Bongo Fury, which was a little hard to get into at first, but now I pretty much like everything I've heard including Thing-Fish.
Here's what I have:
Lumpy Gravy
Hot Rats
Over-nite Sensation
Apostrophe (')
Zoot Allures
Studio Tan
Joe's Garage Acts I, II & III
Sheik Yerbouti (Remaster)
Tinseltown Rebellion
You Are What You Is
Thing-Fish
Jazz From Hell
Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life, The
Broadway the Hardway
Absolutely Free
Weasles Ripped My Flesh
One Size Fits All
Bongo Fury
Freak Out!
Uncle Meat
We're Only In It for the Money
Burnt Weeny Sandwich



To really appreciate Thing-Fish thought you need to see this:

http://home.online.no/~corneliu/thingfish2.html
Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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Points: 231 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2009 at 13:15
I love Zappa! Absolute genius. I have 45 discs, 3 DVDs, went to five shows and I've never been disappointed. AAAARRRRRRFFFFF!


"Arf, she said"
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Points: 3083 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2009 at 13:36
Zappa was certainly a genius. I have the utmost respect and appreciation for his work. That having been said, I don't really enjoy listening to any of it. Hot Rats is fun every now and then, or at least "Peaches en Regalia," but I don't really want to listen to him much beyond that. Not really my thing.
www.last.fm/user/ThisCenotaph
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Mr ProgFreak View Drop Down
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Points: 5195 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2009 at 13:59
^ I can only recommend Roxy & Elsewhere again. I think that if you enjoy listening to Peaches En Regalia, you'll definitely like that album, too. And yes, I'm talking about the whole album.Big smile
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Points: 5291 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2009 at 14:51
You have to get Overnight Sensation ( it has the Ikettes doing backing vocals Much to Ike's amusement at the time)
Aprostrophe is essential with the above selection
 
And Waka Jawaka ( nobody seems to have mentioned this little gem).
 
I could recommend about another 20 but they have all been covered above by other members.
 
Oh don't forget Chungas RevengeSmile
 
 I would keep away from Thing Fish ( For real hardcore fans only)
 
But with Frank you got your Hamburger with the Lot.............Rock Jazz, Blues, DoWop,Big  Band even Classical.
 
Hot Rats is one of his best for my choice of the fusion type albums but there are beauties out there as well in his catalogue, look at the lists above.
 
If you get Lather don't bother with Sleep Dirt or Studio Tan as those albums were taken off Lather as The record company kicked up at the time about releasing a triple album and took those 2 off Lather which was not properly released to the arrival of cds
 
 Hope thats a help
 
Matt

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